Shadow Lands
by Abydos Jackson
Summary: Alistair's having a great time in the Fade...but something doesn't feel quite right! Rated T for a little bit of language and violence. This one's new by the way, not the like the old stuff I've just published. Bit differerent from my usual style.


Alistair felt a little drunk, but he was having _the_ best time of his life! There was his sister – just as he'd imagined her. Pretty smiles and welcoming arms. His nephews playing happily by the crackling fire. He'd rarely been so content, and if things felt a little…fuzzy…well, surely, that was due to whatever he'd been drinking that was making him feel so relaxed and comfortable.

Alistair watched Goldanna as she pottered about the small, basic room. Washing dishes, baking pies, teasing her boys. She'd toss him a smile every now and again, one that made him feel warm and loved, giving him everything he'd ever wanted in just a glance. One, big, happy family.

He leaned back in the chair, stretched out his long legs and smiled, closing his eyes and taking a deep, satisfying breath. His fingers flexed on the armrests, relaxing as his body succumbed to the warmth of the fire and the sound of children playing happily.

Alistair fell into a sleepy day dream, re-playing his first moments with his sister over and over again. It had been everything he'd dreamed of. Just as he'd known it would be. Maker, he felt good! His head was swimming pleasantly, and a warm glow spread through his limbs.

But as he began to drift a memory stirred, the image of a stoic looking man with a beard, his arms folded in front of him, his eyes smouldering and intense. Alistair's eyes snapped open and he bolted upright, the chair scraping across the floor as he did so.

Goldanna turned to him, a worried little smile on her lips. "Is everything alright, brother?"

Alistair shook his head, trying to clear it. "Erm, yes..I thought I remembered someone…they looked familiar, but I can't place them." He laughed nervously, "I'm sure it's nothing."

She moved towards him, seeming to glide just above the wooden floor, rather than walking upon it. Alistair blinked trying to clear his head. _Don't be ridiculous, you idiot._ An inner voice chastised him as Goldanna's hand fell on his shoulder. He could feel her, icy cold through his shirt….or was that amour? Why would he be wearing armour?! "You're tired. You should rest." She looked concerned, just as a sister should, but there was something else…something he couldn't quite put his finger on.

A thought prickled at the back of his mind, but flittered away before he could grasp hold of it, like a shadow passing across the moon. Alistair frowned. "Maybe I should take a walk. Clear my head." He told her.

"If you wish it." Goldanna muttered.

Alistair moved to the door, his body feeling sluggish and heavy. He raised his hand to the door handle and gasped as another image assaulted his senses; confusing him and making him feel nauseous, as if the earth had shifted under his feet suddenly. Sandy rocks cast in shadows. A dead sky. Everything blurry and strange. The walls of the house seemed to melt away, as if they had never been. _This isn't right. You need to wake up._ A voice that seemed to be his, but how could that be so? He glanced around at his new surroundings. _Is this a dream? _Goldanna approached him again, her cold hand sliding up to his shoulder. "There's nothing to worry about, brother. I'm here to look after you now."

Alistair felt his legs give way and he sat heavily on the ground, dizzy and bewildered. A foolish grin spread across his face. "Too much wine?" He chuckled to Goldanna, and then squinted into the distance as something caught his attention. A solitary figure, a woman, strolling towards them, looking tired, but walking with the confidence of a warrior. Another memory stirred in him…this woman accompanying the man with the smouldering eyes. Her face tear stained and grubby, but set in a determined glower. He knew instinctively that he trusted her. Why? His muddled mind struggled to push against the rather pleasant fog that had settled over his mind, and he pushed himself to his feet to greet the new comer.

"Hey there!" He drawled. _You sound like an idiot! Wake up! _That other voice…the other Alistair again. He frowned and squinted at the approaching woman, trying to make out her features. _Elissa._ Other Alistair told him. _A Grey Warden…just like you…you're in trouble now, she's going to kick your ar…." _

And there she was in front of him. Her hands on her hips, looking him up and down with a mixture of relief and irritation on her face.

"Hello, Alistair." She smiled without humour, watching Goldanna and the children warily. "Time to go now. What have you done with your weapons?"

He looked around him in confusion. Weapons? What did he need weapons for?

Goldanna drew near, smiling invitingly. "Is this a friend, brother? They should eat with us. Come…"

Elissa grasped his shoulder, looking into Alistair's eyes intently. "Alistair, do you know me? It's Elissa. We have to go…we have to get back to Redcliffe for Connor." She shook him roughly as he gaped vacantly at her. "Alistair! Oh, Maker, for goodness sake…" She held back for a moment, seeming to think about something, then bunched her gloved hand into a fist and punched him as hard as she could in his face.

Alistair reeled backwards slightly, his hand coming to his lips, wiping away blood. "Bloody hell, Elissa, what did you do _that_ for?!" _Told you you were in trouble_, other Alistair chuckled…and then the two Alistairs merged with a sudden snap of understanding. Everything coming into sharp focus, his memories rushing back, ordered and clear…and oh, that wasn't really his sister staring at him with intent, was it?

"Oh, bugger." He muttered, hardly daring to look Elissa in the face.

"Oh, yes…" She said, exasperated. She stepped close and looked up at him, her face so close he could feel her breath against his skin. "Now," She said quietly, but firmly. "listen carefully, because I've had a _really_ bad day. Where are your weapons, because I think we're going to need them any-second-now…." She glanced meaningfully at the figures approaching them…noting that their features had started to morph into the creatures she'd witnessed elsewhere in the fade.

"Right… Got it...now, where would they be?" Alistair spied his equipment in a heap a few feet away. He looked back at Elissa. "On three..?" He asked, his head cocked to one side in question.

Elissa nodded at him in return. "On three."

At her signal Alistair dived and rolled in one fluid movement, gathering his shield and sword and readying them in a battle stance. Elissa turned towards the Goldanna demon and before it could speak drew her dagger and threw it, hearing the thud as it hit 'her' in the chest.

The two 'children' closed on Alistair, stalking round him menacingly. He charged the closest, knocking it to the floor and kicking it still, finishing it with a strike through its torso. The second, more wary now, stood still, eyeing him carefully. Alistair raised his sword and advanced towards the creature, his brow furrowed in concentration. He feinted to the left, and brought his sword, back-handed down through the creature's chest and then back again across its face. Bashing it with his shield, he watched it fall with a satisfying crunch to the floor, and then turned to see Elissa despatch the 'Goldanna demon', a sneer on her grimy face.

He watched carefully as she tried to catch her breath. She dropped her weapons and rested her hands on her thighs, breathing deeply, before sighing and waving him towards her. He approached sheepishly, a shy smile on his face. "I suppose, 'sorry', doesn't quite cover it, does it?" He asked as he neared her, sheathing his sword and stowing away his shield.

Elissa grinned at him in return, her face pale and drawn, but having lost none of her usual warmth because of it. "You're such an idiot, Alistair." She laughed, standing, now, and wiping her face with the back of her hand.

"Yes, well, I wouldn't want to disappoint by going against my normal form, would I?" He replied. "So, now what?"

She handed him a rag to wipe his bloodied face and he dabbed it carefully. "Now, " She said, suddenly back to business. "…we find the others and get out of here."

XXX

Author's note:

Ok, ok. I admit it… I forgot what type of creatures the 'children' of 'Goldanna' were…and the kids were watching DVDs on the XBOX so I couldn't check! Anyone care to tell me? I'll update it, then, so it makes more sense! Thanks for reading!

This one's a bit different from my usual style so any comments EXTREMELY welcome.

This is for Shineera…for making me smile!


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